iPeace.us
2024-03-29T00:44:37Z
luisella valeri
https://ipeace.us/profile/luisellavaleri
https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/63632836?profile=RESIZE_48X48&width=48&height=48&crop=1%3A1
https://ipeace.us/group/womenforachange/forum/topic/listForContributor?user=0467mpypycerj&feed=yes&xn_auth=no
Ronit Shefi singing at World Peace March in Jerusalem
tag:ipeace.us,2009-10-13:2217368:Topic:2135012
2009-10-13T22:31:15.959Z
luisella valeri
https://ipeace.us/profile/luisellavaleri
Hi everyone,<br />
<br />
Lovely WFAC Supporter <a href="http://www.ipeace.me/profile/ronit?xg_source=profiles_memberList" target="_blank">Ronit Shefi</a> just sent me this message<br />
<br />
<i>hello dear ones!<br />
This coming Friday I'll be singing WE ARE ONE (& more of my songs) at the main event for the World Peace March, taking place in Jerusalem, Israel/Palestine.<br />
If you are in the area - PLEASE join me there!<br />
LOVE, PEACE,<br />
Ronit.</i><br />
<br />
We are One is a theme song of Women for a Change and I met Ronit when I was…
Hi everyone,<br />
<br />
Lovely WFAC Supporter <a href="http://www.ipeace.me/profile/ronit?xg_source=profiles_memberList" target="_blank">Ronit Shefi</a> just sent me this message<br />
<br />
<i>hello dear ones!<br />
This coming Friday I'll be singing WE ARE ONE (& more of my songs) at the main event for the World Peace March, taking place in Jerusalem, Israel/Palestine.<br />
If you are in the area - PLEASE join me there!<br />
LOVE, PEACE,<br />
Ronit.</i><br />
<br />
We are One is a theme song of Women for a Change and I met Ronit when I was in Israel earlier this year.<br />
<br />
She is amazing!!!
Inspiring Women: Facing tragedy, Creating peace
tag:ipeace.us,2009-07-28:2217368:Topic:1895341
2009-07-28T14:52:49.807Z
luisella valeri
https://ipeace.us/profile/luisellavaleri
25 years ago, this year, WFAC Community supporter Jo Berry's father was killed by a terrorist bomb in the UK. This began a life long mission to find ways to create peace.<br />
<br />
5 years ago, Chris Crowstaff's baby died at birth. Now co-founder of Women for a Change, she has dedicated her life to building a global support network for women.<br />
<br />
In June 2009 Jo and Chris met for the first time and talked intimately about how these events have changed their…
25 years ago, this year, WFAC Community supporter Jo Berry's father was killed by a terrorist bomb in the UK. This began a life long mission to find ways to create peace.<br />
<br />
5 years ago, Chris Crowstaff's baby died at birth. Now co-founder of Women for a Change, she has dedicated her life to building a global support network for women.<br />
<br />
In June 2009 Jo and Chris met for the first time and talked intimately about how these events have changed their lives.<br />
<br />
<object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/fSYfjfcztvI&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="never"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/fSYfjfcztvI&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="never" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>
Jo Berry - Facing Differences - Bomber & Victim working together for peace
tag:ipeace.us,2009-07-27:2217368:Topic:1892926
2009-07-27T23:40:27.114Z
luisella valeri
https://ipeace.us/profile/luisellavaleri
.<br />
<p style="text-align: left;"><img alt="" height="183" src="http://api.ning.com/files/SaGjVzmwoLN3XaiRUS2CNAiapIueqyRaH3*WFBktdA4A2buwpfWOgS5kUJlmhVQoI9oDNCvwa5MHOLO2euDZDB-lLQxRv-ld/JoBerry.jpg" width="183"></img></p>
<br />
<b>It can be a tough ride when you make the courageous choice to listen to you heart.</b><br />
Full of ups and downs.<br />
<br />
One such woman who chose to do this is Jo Berry. Jo’s father was killed by an IRA bomb in Brighton, nearly 25 years ago in 1984.<br />
<br />
Jo has been meeting regularly with Pat Magee, her father’s killer, since he was released from prison in 1999. It began as a personal journey for Jo, as part of her healing process. But she and Pat soon…
.<br />
<p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://api.ning.com/files/SaGjVzmwoLN3XaiRUS2CNAiapIueqyRaH3*WFBktdA4A2buwpfWOgS5kUJlmhVQoI9oDNCvwa5MHOLO2euDZDB-lLQxRv-ld/JoBerry.jpg" alt="" width="183" height="183"/></p>
<br />
<b>It can be a tough ride when you make the courageous choice to listen to you heart.</b><br />
Full of ups and downs.<br />
<br />
One such woman who chose to do this is Jo Berry. Jo’s father was killed by an IRA bomb in Brighton, nearly 25 years ago in 1984.<br />
<br />
Jo has been meeting regularly with Pat Magee, her father’s killer, since he was released from prison in 1999. It began as a personal journey for Jo, as part of her healing process. But she and Pat soon realised that it could represent a lot more than their own inner journeys.<br />
<br />
Encouraged by others, their story was soon made into a documentary for British television.<br />
<br />
As with almost anything, not everyone sees their reconciliation in a positive light, so it’s been even more of a journey.<br />
<br />
Jo & Pat's journey has certainly inspired a great deal of positive work throughout the world, as well as <b>Jo’s own organisation</b>, <b>‘<a href="http://www.buildingbridgesforpeace.org/index.html" target="_blank">Building Bridges for Peace’</a>.</b><br />
<br />
Jo has become a very close and dear friend to me. I was recently blessed in being able to spend 4 and a half hours with her. A very special time of sharing.<br />
Some of our meeting is now on film to share with you all. Hopefully, the editing will be completed before I go to Uganda, and the film will soon be ready for you.<br />
<br />
Excitingly, Jo and Patrick are featured in a new <b>film to promote peace</b> – <b><a href="http://womenforachangecommunity.ning.com/video/jo-berry-features-in-new-peace" target="_blank">Soldiers of Peace</a>,</b><br />
<b>also featuring Sir Bob Geldof and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and narrated by Michael Douglas.</b><br />
<br />
Jo & Pat's work is also featured in a recent book by Michael Henderson, <b><a href="http://www.michaelhenderson.org.uk/no-enemy-to-conquer-launch" target="_blank">'No Enemy to Conquer - Forgiveness in an Unforgiving World'.</a></b><br />
<br />
I’d like to finish, for now, by sharing <b>Jo’s poem</b>, which she wrote near the start of her journey,<br />
<i>reproduced here for you all with Jo’s kind permission….</i><br />
<br />
<b>Bridges Can Be Built</b><br />
<br />
Fires rage in my heart<br />
the heat heals the pain<br />
bridges can be built<br />
<br />
as a human being<br />
I listen to your suffering<br />
you offer me your story<br />
the pain of the war<br />
I learn<br />
bridges can be built<br />
<br />
you are my enemy I was told<br />
be a good girl<br />
speak only our words<br />
and then I met you<br />
bridges can be built<br />
<br />
truth is more important<br />
I will speak out for the healing of the world<br />
take courage<br />
take spirit<br />
the game of the tribe is not for me<br />
bridges can be built<br />
<br />
the clothes of prejudice now stripped away<br />
as I open to you<br />
leaving my bare soul<br />
that can love you all<br />
bridges can be built<br />
<br />
with the eyes of knowing<br />
I move from us and them<br />
our differences disappear<br />
the unity of humanity remains<br />
bridges can be built<br />
<br />
your sons could be mine<br />
and I could be your brother<br />
planting the bomb that killed the little boy<br />
bridges can be built<br />
<br />
and now I stand alone with you who killed my Dad<br />
there is a place inside me that knows you acted your truth<br />
challenging injustice and oppression<br />
my Dad was in the way<br />
bridges can be built<br />
<br />
I miss my Dad<br />
and cry for the grandad my girls cannot know<br />
tears of grief for all who suffer<br />
we are one in our loss in our pain<br />
bridges can be built<br />
<br />
sometimes I feel that my heart heals as Ireland heals<br />
I am sorry for the suffering imposed by my tribe<br />
I acknowledge your struggle<br />
bridges can be built<br />
<br />
my heart burns for peace, justice and equality for all<br />
the passion of knowing that<br />
bridges can be built<br />
<b><br />
<i>Jo Berry</i></b><br />
<b><i>Copyright © 2007-2009 Building Bridges for Peace</i></b>
Heroines of Peace - The Nine Nobel Women
tag:ipeace.us,2009-07-11:2217368:Topic:1834286
2009-07-11T07:58:03.747Z
luisella valeri
https://ipeace.us/profile/luisellavaleri
<p style="text-align: left;"><img alt="" height="85" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1214246861?profile=original" width="515"></img></p>
Heroines of Peace<br />
The Nine Nobel Women*<br />
- By Irwin Abrams<br />
Antioch University<br />
22 September 1997<br />
<br />
<br />
The Nobel Peace Prizes at their best set before us an array of great human spirits. The nine women Prizewinners clearly belong in this list. They come from a variety of backgrounds and represent a variety of forms of peace making.<br />
<br />
The earliest of these heroines of peace was the Austrian baroness who inspired the Prize, while the most recent was the Indian…
<p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1214246861?profile=original" alt="" width="515" height="85"/></p>
Heroines of Peace<br />
The Nine Nobel Women*<br />
- By Irwin Abrams<br />
Antioch University<br />
22 September 1997<br />
<br />
<br />
The Nobel Peace Prizes at their best set before us an array of great human spirits. The nine women Prizewinners clearly belong in this list. They come from a variety of backgrounds and represent a variety of forms of peace making.<br />
<br />
The earliest of these heroines of peace was the Austrian baroness who inspired the Prize, while the most recent was the Indian from Guatemala who rose to leadership overcoming poverty and oppression. They include the woman regarded as the greatest of her generation in the United States; the scholar and reformer who was the acknowledged intellectual leader of the American peace movement; two Northern Irish advocates of nonviolence who made a dramatic effort to resolve the longstanding violent conflict in their land; a saintly missionary working in the slums of Calcutta; a Swedish social reformer who became a cabinet minister and ambassador; and a Burmese intellectual who led the opposition to a brutal military dictatorship.<br />
<br />
They were not only of different nationalities and different classes, but of different faiths; among them were Catholics and freethinkers, a Buddhist and a Quaker. They worked against war in peace societies and in political life, as humanitarians and defenders of human rights. This small group of nine Laureates represents the diverse paths to peace which the Norwegian Nobel committees have recognized over the years. But they are most interesting in themselves; each has a fascinating story to tell.<br />
<br />
The purpose of this paper is to consider the lives and peace efforts of these nine laureates, picturing them as the members of the Nobel Committee described them in presenting them with their prizes at the award ceremonies. Thereafter we shall reflect on what, if anything they had in common. In the Appendix are some notes on the contributions of other women, the wives and mothers of the men who won the Prize. But first a few words about Alfred Nobel's intentions regarding women and the Prize and how the Norwegian committee have followed his wishes in this respect.<br />
<br />
<u><b>Nobel, The Norwegian Nobel Committee, and Women Prizewinners</b></u>The story has often been told of how Nobel had long been interested in peace but how it was his friend the peace activist Baroness Bertha von Suttner, who drew his attention to the international movement against war which was becoming organized in the 1890s and secured his financial support for her peace activities.<br />
<br />
In January 1893 he wrote her that he planned to set up a prize to be awarded "to him or her who would have brought about the greatest step toward advancing the pacification of Europe." In the will he drafted a few months later Nobel included a generous bequest for Baroness von Suttner's Austrian Peace Society and provided for prizes to be awarded every three years for intellectual and scientific achievements. These included efforts to promote the establishment of a European tribunal and were to be granted to the most deserving, whether "a Swede or a foreigner, a man or a woman."<br />
<br />
In the final draft of his will, Nobel omitted the last clause, as well as the bequest for the Austrian Peace Society, but he set up a prize for peace as one of his five prizes, and he clearly expected the Baroness to receive it. Four awards were made, however, before she finally received the prize in 1905.<br />
<br />
In 1901 and 1902 she was not even on the Committee's short list. In 1903 the Committee put her on the short list, but despite the support of most of the other peace leaders, who called her their "commander-in-chief," she was again passed over. In 1904 she lost out to the Institute of International Law, which added insult to injury, since when Nobel's will was being implemented, the Baroness, with her special knowledge of her friend's intentions, had strongly protested to the executors that Nobel had wanted the Prize to go only to individuals.<br />
<br />
In a speech earlier that year Nobel Committee Chairman Jörgen Lövland, in referring to the awards to the veterans of the peace movement, had spoken of "the men who had done this work." Small wonder that the Baroness just about gave up hope and was much surprised when the gold ring finally came around to her in 1905. This was due to the special effort of Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, the great writer, who was a member of the committee.<br />
<br />
When the Baroness came to deliver her Nobel lecture in the spring of 1906, Chairman Lövland, now foreign minister, spoke at the banquet about the great influence of women in history and how they could change the ideas of war and give men higher aims. It was however, twenty-six years later before the second woman, Jane Addams, was honored with the Prize.<br />
<br />
Addams had first been nominated in 1916 for her efforts to bring the First World War to an end and repeatedly thereafter. In 1923 the Committee's adviser recommended her in his report, and she had a distinguished list of supporters, including Woodrow Wilson, John Dewey, Felix Frankfurter, Robert LaFollette and Sidney Webb, but no Prize was awarded for that year. Four more times she was on the short list before she shared the divided Prize of 1931 with Nicholas Murray Butler.<br />
<br />
In the presentation speech, made in her absence, Professor Halvdan Koht said, "In honoring Jane Addams, we also render homage to the work which women can do for peace and human brotherhood." Apparently that was enough homage for the next fifteen years until in 1946 Emily Green Balch shared the Prize with John Mott of the YMCA. This time it took years for the next women laureates, Betty Williams and Mairead Corrigan, even though the committee had had its first woman member since 1948.<br />
<br />
During the thirty years Mrs. Aase Lionaes served on the Committee, chairing it the last ten, the Williams-Corrigan award was the only one to women. Since then the committee has done better, honoring Mother Teresa in 1979, Alva Myrdal in 1982, Aung Sang Suu Kyi in 1991, and Rigoberta Menchú Tum in 1992.<br />
<br />
In the first 45 years of the Prizes, only three went to women, and of the 96 awards since 1901, only nine women have been Prizewinners. The committee's archives are open for research up to the Second World War, so we know that a number of women made the short list: The Quaker Priscilla Peckover and Annie Besant, theosophist and social reformer, both from England; from the United States, the peace activist Lucia Ames Mead, Belva Lockwood and Carrie Chapman Call and Elsa Brändström, the Swedish humanitarian.<br />
<br />
Others who might have been considered in the period included Dr. Aletta Jacobs of the Netherlands, feminist and activist; the activist Helene Stöcker and the artist Käthe Kollwitz of Germany; Christian socialist Muriel Lester and author Vera Brittain of England; and feminist and writer Oliver Schreiner of South Africa.<br />
<br />
In the years following the Second World War, there were several well qualified women candidates who were not named. In 1947 there was a proposal with the Cold War in mind, to share the prize between Eleanor Roosevelt who had done distinguished work on human rights in the United States and Alexandra Kollontai, the Soviet diplomat who had contributed to ending the Soviet-Finnish War. In 1948 Rosika Schwimmer of Hungary, who began her peace campaigning during the First World War, was nominated by a number of European parliamentarians.<br />
<br />
While it is true that during all these years it was difficult for a woman to rise to prominence in a male world, the Norwegian Nobel committees were apparently not without prejudice.<br />
<br />
<u><b>Baroness Bertha von Suttner</b></u><br />
<p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/97075058?profile=original" alt="" width="200" height="256"/></p>
<br />
It is all the more remarkable that Baroness von Suttner won an international reputation at the beginning of the twentieth century. On a lecture tour of the United States in 1904 she was even received at the White House by President Theodore Roosevelt.<br />
<br />
Not the least of her achievements was her break with the military and aristocratic traditions of her family, first by deciding to earn her living as a governess and later by writing the anti-war novel Die Waffen Nieder ("Lay Down Your Arms"), which brought her into the peace movement. Eloping with the brother of the young ladies she was tutoring and going off with him to the Caucasus to become a writer was also not quite what a well-bred countess was expected to do.<br />
<br />
The Baroness was not able to come to Norway when her prize was announced in 1905 on the traditional day, December 10, and there was no presentation speech. The following April, she was introduced by Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson who spoke of her "real influence on the growth of the peace movement and how in one of the most militaristic countries of Europe she had continued to cry, "Down with arms." Although laughed at first, her words received a hearing because they were uttered by a person of noble character and because they proclaimed humanity's greatest cause.<br />
<br />
<u><b>Jane Addams</b></u><br />
<p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1214247653?profile=original" alt="" width="200" height="279"/></p>
<br />
The Norwegian Nobel Committee had waited so long to give the Prize to Jane Addams, that she was ill and unable to go to the award ceremony or to come later to present a Nobel lecture. In fact, on the very day of the award, December 10, 1931, she was being admitted to the hospital in Baltimore. ln failing health in her last years, Jane Addams died four years later.<br />
<br />
Professor Halvdan Koht gave the presentation speech for Addams and her co-recipient, Nicholas Murray Butler, both of whom were absent. Since Koht was a specialist in American history, he must have known what an unlikely pairing this represented, for during the First World War, Butler had strongly denounced those, like Addams, who had opposed the war.<br />
<br />
Koht paid due tribute to the war-time leadership of the International Congress of Women which met at The Hague in 1915 and led to a spectacular effort to end the war. He explained her opposition to the entry of the United States, which may well have kept an earlier Nobel committee from giving her the prize, in this way: "She held fast to the ideal of peace even during the difficult hours when other considerations and interests obscured it from her compatriots and drove them into the conflict."<br />
<br />
Toiling for peace during the war and for a true peace afterward, she spoke for the pacifist women of the world. For some reason Koht did not give specific mention of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, the organization she helped found and continued to lead. As she asked, the WILPF is on her tombstone along with Hull House, the famous settlement house she established. Fortunately, Koht's omission of WILPF is rectified in the official Nobel Foundation Directory.<br />
<br />
Koht went on to say, "Even when her views were at odds with public opinion, she never gave in, and in the end she regained the place of honors she had had before in the hearts of her people."<br />
<br />
This was very true. The Chicago City Council for example proclaimed that "she was the greatest woman who ever lived."<br />
<br />
Koht spoke of how Goethe, Henrik Ibsen, and Björnson had all seen women as representing "the highest and purest moral standards of society." Koht felt that women have a special role as peacemakers, speaking of "that love, that warm maternal feeling which renders murder and war so hateful to every woman." Addams herself wrote that as a life-giver and a life-nurturer, woman has a special feeling about war and peace. To Koht, "Jane Addams combines all the best feminine qualities which will help us to develop peace on earth."<br />
<br />
Without superlatives, perceptive observers, in whose hearts Addams may not have lost a place of honor, have given her the highest praise. William James declared that "she inhabited reality," and to Walter Lippman, "she was not only good, but great."<br />
<br />
<u><b>Emily Green Balch</b></u><br />
<p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/97075060?profile=original" alt="" width="190" height="265"/></p>
<br />
Emily Greene Balch was a colleague of Jane Addams' in the effort to stop the First World War, her partner in the work of WILPF, and successor as its leader. In 1946 she herself shared a prize with the YMCA leader, John Mott. It came to her as the result of a successful campaign organized at the request of WILPF by its member, Mercedes Randall, who did a remarkable job of bringing Balch's indisputable qualifications before the Nobel committee and securing a large number of prominent supporters.<br />
<br />
Committee Chairman Gunnar Jahn gave a far fuller description of Balch's activities than Koht had devoted to Addams. He told of her landmark research on Slav immigrants to the U.S., of her twenty-year teaching of social economics at Wellesley College, which ended when she was dismissed because of her pacifist activities during World War I. In her next career, she was at the center of WILPF's international work, serving for a time as its secretary-general in the Geneva headquarters, and continuing to be a familiar figure at the League of Nations.<br />
<br />
Jahn was impressed with her practicality, her effort to improve international political relations by promoting international cooperation in other fields, and by her control of the facts in all her proposals. As an example he referred to her work to secure the withdrawal of the U. S. troops from Haiti in 1926 after eleven years of occupation. She went to Haiti with a delegation, showed great skill in investigating the situation, wrote most of the report, and fought to get the recommendations accepted by the government. Eventually they were all carried out and the troops withdrawn.<br />
<br />
Jahn referred to Balch's difficult decision in World War II, as an absolute pacifist who had joined the Quakers, to support the U.S. war effort to vanquish the evil which Hitlerism represented. She could not be unaffected by the fate of her WILPF colleagues and Jewish friends.<br />
<br />
Jahn commended Balch for her gradualism, as compared with the Utopianism of less patient peace workers. She continued to develop imaginative proposals for slow international progress through functional cooperation and came to be regarded by American peace activists as their intellectual leader.<br />
<br />
<u><b>Betty Williams and Mairead Corrigan</b></u><br />
<p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1214247666?profile=original" alt="" width="320" height="210"/></p>
<br />
When Egil Aarvik, vice-chairman of the committee presented the postponed 1976 prize to Betty Williams and Mairead Corrigan in 1977, he began his speech with a graphic description of the tragic accident that had occurred the previous August on a street in Belfast in Northern Ireland. A car out of control, its driver an Irish Republican Army (IRA) gunman shot dead fleeing from British soldiers, smashed into a family out for a walk. Two of the children were killed outright, the third was mortally injured, and the mother critically injured.<br />
<br />
This senseless killing of innocent children produced a wave of revulsion against the violence which had been sweeping Northern Ireland, with Catholic IRA members using murder and terror to drive out the British, Protestant extremists doing the same in response, and many innocent victims killed as a consequence. The movement was led by Betty Williams, a housewife who came upon the scene after she heard the shot, and Mairead Corrigan, the young aunt of the dead children.<br />
<br />
Aarvik told how the two women led marches in which Protestants and Catholics walked together in demonstrations for peace and against violence. That so many people in Northern Ireland had recognized that violence cannot bring social justice, Aarvik declared, gave hope that this could be "the dawn of a new day bringing lasting peace to the sorely tried people of Ulster."<br />
<br />
Williams and Corrigan "have shown us what ordinary people can do to promote peace." They had the courage to take the first step. "They did so in the name of humanity and love of their neighbour; someone had to start forgiving. ... Love of one's neighbor is one of the foundation stones of the humanism on which our western civilization is built." It is vitally important that it "should shine forth when hatred and revenge threaten to dominate." Theirs was "a courageous unselfish act that proved an inspiration to thousands, that lit a light in the darkness..."<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, that light was dimmed in Northern Ireland until very recently. The Peace People, the organization which emerged from the movement, declined in numbers and influence. Betty Williams emigrated to the United States, where she teaches in a university and has become a stirring lecturer on peace. Mairead Corrigan Maguire has continued to work with the Peace People in Belfast and has also effectively carried her message of nonviolence into other countries. Quakers in the seventeenth century thought of themselves as "God's ordinaries." When ordinary people rise to face challenge, they may go far beyond the ordinary.<br />
<br />
<u><b>Mother Teresa</b></u><br />
<p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1214247735?profile=original" alt="" width="190" height="325"/></p>
<br />
Professor John Sanness, who chaired the committee, gave the speech of presentation for the 1979 prize to Mother Teresa. After speaking of the many paths to peace which had been recognized in previous awards, he explained what was special in this one:<br />
<br />
Can any political, social, or intellectual feat of engineering, on the international or on the national plane, however effective and rational, however idealistic and principled its protagonists may be, give us anything but a house built on a foundation of sand, unless the spirit of Mother Teresa inspires the builders and takes its dwelling in their building?<br />
<br />
Sannes explained that this spirit is rooted in the Christian faith. "She sees Christ in every human being, and this in her eyes makes man sacred... The hallmark of her work has been respect for the individual and the individual's worth and dignity. The loneliest and the most wretched, the dying destitute, the abandoned lepers, have been received by her and her Sisters with warm compassion devoid of condescension, based on this reverence for Christ in Man.<br />
<br />
Sannes told how Mother Teresa was born into a Roman Catholic Albanian family living in Skopje, capital of the Yugoslav republic of Macedonia. At the age of twelve she had felt the call to help the poor, and a few years later decided to work in India. At the age of eighteen she joined the Irish order of Loreto and went to teach in their girls' school in Calcutta. After sixteen years she felt a new call, to work in the Calcutta slums. There she started a new order, the Missionaries of Charity, committed to serve the poorest of the poor, which soon spread to many other countries.<br />
<br />
Working for people who were not of her race, religion or nationality, Mother Teresa had transcended all barriers. "With her message she is able to reach through to something innate in every human kind--- if for no other purpose than to create a potential, a seed for good." "She promotes peace in the most fundamental manner," Sanness concluded, "by her confirmation of the inviolability of human dignity."<br />
<br />
<u><b>Alva Myrdal</b></u><br />
<p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/97075081?profile=original" alt="" width="200" height="277"/></p>
<br />
Chairman Egil Aarvik of the committee gave the presentation speech at the award ceremony when the 1982 prize was shared between Alva Myrdal and Alfonso García Robles of Mexico. Aarvik explained that in recognizing two prominent leaders in the disarmament movement the committee wanted at the same time to give that movement a helping hand. Myrdal had headed the Swedish delegation to the U.N. Disarmament Committee from 1962 to1973 and had produced one of the best books on the disarmament race.<br />
<br />
Her social commitment went back to the 1930s, "when she played a prominent part in developing the Swedish welfare state. She was a staunch champion of women's liberation and equal rights." Aarvik belonged to a more conservative part of the political spectrum, but he said that on one point all could agree: "her name has become a rallying point for men and women who still cling to the belief that in the last resort mind is bound to triumph over matter." Myrdal was not only a champion of reason but in her writing and in all her activities one of its most brilliant practitioners.<br />
<br />
She was the first woman to be appointed head of a department in the United Nations Secretariat, and she had served her country with distinction as a cabinet member and as ambassador to India. So glowing was her record in all her assignments, so many honors had been heaped upon her, that Aarvik seems not to have recognized that, as she pointed out to me, "I had not held my first important position until I was forty years old." The career of her husband, Gunnar Myrdal, had taken priority at times when she had been offered high positions.<br />
<br />
Of all the honors she had received, Myrdal regarded the Nobel Peace Prize as "the peak." She confided to me, however, that the Norwegian People's Prize was "dearer to my heart." In 1981 when she had been nominated once again for the Nobel and the committee had given the prize to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, there was such an outcry of criticism in Norway that a popular movement arose which raised sixty thousand dollars to be presented to her as the Norwegian People's Prize. The ceremony at the Oslo city hall in February 1982 had touched her deeply.<br />
<br />
Aarvik referred to what Myrdal had said in accepting the first Einstein Peace Prize: "I have, despite all disillusionment, never, never allowed myself to feel like giving up. This is my message today; it is not worthy of a human being to give up." Aarvik emphasized this message, no doubt thinking of the failure of the U.N. disarmament session earlier that year. He said that the committee intended the 1982 peace prize to go to "people who are not satisfied merely to draw attention to alarming trends, but who also devote their energy and their ability to turning the tide." Certainly such a one was Alva Myrdal.<br />
<br />
<u><b>Aung San Suu Kyi</b></u><br />
<p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/97075036?profile=original" alt="" width="180" height="239"/></p>
<br />
At the ceremony for Aung San Suu Kyi in December 1991, she was still being held in detention by the military dictatorship in Myanmar (Burma) and could only be represented by her two sons, her husband and her picture facing the audience. In his speech presenting the prize to her sons, Professor Francis Sejersted, chairman of the committee, declared, "Her absence fills us with fear and anxiety," but he felt we could also have confidence and hope. He went on to sum up the meaning of her prize:<br />
<br />
In the good fight for peace and reconciliation, we are dependent on persons who set examples, persons who can symbolize what we are seeking and mobilize the best in us. Aung San Suu Kyi is just such a person. She unites deep commitment and tenacity with a vision in which the end and the means form a single unit. Its most important elements are: democracy, respect for human rights, reconciliation between groups, non-violence, and personal and collective discipline.<br />
<br />
The sources of her inspiration, Sejersted explained, were Mahatma Gandhi, about whom she had learned when her mother was ambassador to India, and her father, Aung San, the leader in Burma's struggle for liberation. She was only two when he was assassinated, but she had made his life a center of her studies. From Gandhi she drew her commitment to nonviolence, from her father the understanding that leadership was a duty and that one can only lead in humility and with the confidence and respect of the people to be led. Both were examples for her of independence and modesty, and Aung San represented what she called "a profound simplicity."<br />
<br />
We must add that undergirding her political philosophy in spirit and deed has always been her Buddhist faith, which is also the foundation for her belief in human rights. In championing human rights in her political opposition to the military dictatorship, she needed to be fearless. Sejersted referred to the incident during her election campaigning when she courageously faced a detachment of soldiers, whose officer lined them up in front of her, prepared to fire if she continued to walk down that street, which she did.<br />
<br />
Several times in his speech Sejersted cited the collection of her essays, entitled Freedom from Fear, which her husband, Michael Aris, edited and published before the ceremony, so that her voice could be heard beyond the reach of her oppressors. The title essay begins, "It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it." Fearlessness is the best response to governmental violence. In conclusion she writes that "truth, justice and compassion... are often the only bulwarks against ruthless power." These are the teachings of Buddha.<br />
<br />
Sejersted told how Suu Kyi spent many years abroad, first when with her diplomat mother in her younger years, then studying at Oxford, working at the United Nations in New York, marrying Aris, a British Tibetan scholar, starting a family when they were in Bhutan, finally ending up in England, after scholarly assignments in Japan and India. Burma was always on her mind and heart, however, especially after the military seized power in 1962. When she married Aris, she told him that one day she must return to Burma when she was needed.<br />
<br />
It was to nurse her dying mother that she returned from England, but as the daughter of Aung San, she could not stay aloof when she saw the government brutally repressing a popular movement in opposition. She headed a political party in the elections which the military permitted, but she was so successful that even before election day, she was ordered confined to her home. Nevertheless, her party won by a great majority, after which its other leaders were jailed.<br />
<br />
"We ordinary people, I believe," Sejersted declared, "feel that with her courage and her high ideals, Aung San Suu Kyi brings out something of the best in us... The little woman under house arrest stands for a positive hope. Knowing she is there gives us confidence and faith in the power of good."<br />
<br />
As of this writing Suu Kyi is still under detention, separated from her family, despite efforts of many governments and the United Nations to secure her liberation. A group of Nobel peace laureates only got as far as Thailand in an attempt to bring their petition to the military dictators who hold her. In 1994, however, a U.S. congressman was permitted to see her, and, as a result of mediation by a Buddhist monk, she had a conference with members of the government. There is now more hope.<br />
<br />
<u><b>Rigoberta Menchú Tum</b></u><br />
<p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/97075115?profile=original" alt="" width="172" height="239"/></p>
<br />
It was announced in October 1992 that the prize would go to Rigoberta Menchú, a Mayan Indian of Guatemala "in recognition of her work for social justice and ethnocultural reconciliation based on respect for the rights of indigenous peoples."<br />
<br />
The decision was generally applauded, but conservative critics charged that Menchú had taken part in violent actions of the Guatemalan guerrillas against the government. Previous Nobel prizes for champions of human rights had been given only to those who used nonviolent methods, like Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma. It was true that Menchú had every provocation to take up arms, and two of her sisters had indeed joined the guerrillas. Government soldiers had brutally murdered their mother and brother because their father opposed the landowners, and finally the soldiers had set fire to the Spanish embassy where the father and other compesinos were making a peaceful protest and burned them all to death.<br />
<br />
Menchú tells this terrible story in I, Rigoberta Menchú, An Indian Woman in Guatemala, a book composed of a series of reminiscences she dictated in Spanish to the anthropologist Elisabeth Burgos-Debray. That Menchú did not turn to violence, but to political and social work for her people, is the reason why she received the prize. She became an active member of the Committee for Campesino Unity and then helped found the Revolutionary Christians. Menchú explained that "we understood revolutionary in the real meaning of the word 'transformation.' If I had chosen the armed struggle, I would be in the mountains now."<br />
<br />
Committee Chairman Sejersted in his presentation speech emphasized the meaning of Menchú's decision. He spoke of "the brutalizing effect of the use of violence. Whoever commits an act of violence will lose his humanity. Thus, violence breeds violence and hate breeds hate." How can one break out of this circle, especially when one is confronted with the blind violence of the other side?<br />
<br />
An answer can be found in "the shining individual examples of people who manage to preserve their humanity in brutal and violent surroundings, of persons who for that very reason compel our special respect and admiration. Such people give us a hope that there are ways out of the vicious circle."<br />
<br />
To Sejersted, "even in the most brutal situations, one must retain one's faith that there is a minimum of human feelings in all of us. Rigoberta Menchú Tum has preserved that faith."<br />
<br />
Her whole life story represents a remarkable achievement. Born in abject poverty among a suppressed people, working since the age of eight --- "I never had a childhood" --- she managed to get some minimal education in her church, where she first showed her potential ability, taught herself Spanish so that she could tell the world of the sufferings of her people, and, driven into exile in Mexico in fear of her life because of her political activites, she developed the skills of leadership and diplomacy until, as the prize announcement states, "Today, Rigoberta Menchú stands as a vivid symbol of peace and reconciliation across ethnic, cultural and social dividing lines, in her own country, on the American continent and in the world."<br />
<br />
<u><b>Conclusion</b></u><br />
What did all these women peace Laureates have in common? They were all women of high ideals, prepared to work and sacrifice to bring something better into being, and they labored in the certainty that their objectives would eventually be realized. They all carried within that sacred flame, which Gunnar Jahn perceived in Emily Greene Balch, which inspired them to struggle against odds, to withstand disappointments and defeats, to resolve never to give up. They shared a faith in humanity, whether born of religious conviction or humanism. Most displayed remarkable courage. Not all faced the aimed rifle, as did Aung San Suu Kyi, or had to hide from the soldiers, as did Rigoberta Menchú Tum. But it took courage to withstand the slings and arrows of the militaristic press of Imperial Germany or the war-time patriotic fervor in the United States, just as it took courage to take the first step to break the circle of violence in Northern Ireland.<br />
<br />
Sejersted said that "in the good fight for peace and reconciliation, we are dependent on persons who set examples, persons who can symbolize what we are seeking and mobilize the best in us." That all the women Laureates haand faith in the power of good."<br />
<br />
In speaking of Jane Addams, Professor Kove done for us, knowing that they are there and have been there "gives us confidence ht referred to "the best feminine qualities which will help us to develop peace on earth." Above all, however, what these nine Nobel Women have shown us is the potential of the human spirit.<br />
*********************************************************************************************************************<br />
<a href="http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/articles/heroines/index.html" target="_blank">Article Source</a>
I just want to weep loudly
tag:ipeace.us,2009-06-29:2217368:Topic:1803686
2009-06-29T06:03:26.372Z
luisella valeri
https://ipeace.us/profile/luisellavaleri
To all my dear friends,<br />
Please forgive if you think that I am doing something, but allow me to weep loudly as again I am feeling great pain in my heart. I never wept loudly in my whole life, but when I have wept once in my life. When the people came to take the body of my dear brother Dr. Pervez Khan for burial I have lost control on myself and started weeping loudly as that was the time when my mother, my sisters and my wife Fatima were weeping loudly. I still remember the day and I think I…
To all my dear friends,<br />
Please forgive if you think that I am doing something, but allow me to weep loudly as again I am feeling great pain in my heart. I never wept loudly in my whole life, but when I have wept once in my life. When the people came to take the body of my dear brother Dr. Pervez Khan for burial I have lost control on myself and started weeping loudly as that was the time when my mother, my sisters and my wife Fatima were weeping loudly. I still remember the day and I think I will forget that moment.<br />
But today the cries of innocent people mostly women and children have been forcing me to weep loudly. I have been weeping here because I know you will not mind my weeping. In this way at least I shall get some consolling from you. My pain has been increasing with each passing day. Now I am feeling the pain of Fatima. Though Fatima has been keeping her weeping secret from me, but I know she has been weeping daily. Now she is feeling irritation in her eyes. She is feeling pain in heart and irritation in eyes.<br />
I have been trying to play a role for stopping the madness, but I have failed in my bid. Therefore, now I have left with no other option except weeping. God the Great will be seeing the weeping of innocent people mostly women and children. I have the belief that something better will happen. I have the belief that saner elements will prevail and will stop those people, who have been trying to make this world a hell.<br />
Let us join hands together for making this world as heaven where no one will need to weep. Let us work for a world where everyone will be provided some relief and peace. Let us pray collectively for a better world. But please forgive me as weeping for a man is not a good thing, but I am weeping just to get sympathies of you. I want to make your good wishes and sympathies my power. May God the Great give you all the happiness in this life and in the life hereafter if there is any.
Fatima´s role in this porcess of PEACE.....a matter of empathy!
tag:ipeace.us,2009-06-25:2217368:Topic:1792429
2009-06-25T10:14:32.035Z
luisella valeri
https://ipeace.us/profile/luisellavaleri
Yes Moud (Muhammad)!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
I must introduce myself first since is as a "mother" and as a "sister" that I´m turning to all of you on behalf of our sister Fatima and he beloved husband and children....<br />
<br />
I´m a LIFE designer which means that my brain is always looking for that "better way" to heal the world!<br />
<br />
I supposed some of you ´re my colleagues in the ART arena so I´m here to encourage you to donate your own "ARTWORK" and show through this iPeace network and write down our purpose..<br />
<br />
"ON behalf…
Yes Moud (Muhammad)!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
I must introduce myself first since is as a "mother" and as a "sister" that I´m turning to all of you on behalf of our sister Fatima and he beloved husband and children....<br />
<br />
I´m a LIFE designer which means that my brain is always looking for that "better way" to heal the world!<br />
<br />
I supposed some of you ´re my colleagues in the ART arena so I´m here to encourage you to donate your own "ARTWORK" and show through this iPeace network and write down our purpose..<br />
<br />
"ON behalf of FATIMA"<br />
<br />
The strategy to be able to reach out for these beloved family<br />
<br />
...just buy a lottery number which each participant can get by adding her/his name right bellow the name and number appearing on the Lottery list under each donated ARTWORK..if you happen to like any of the donated artwork..just add your name and number underneath the picture of the artists pain that you like most and the rest is simple...FATIMA will have the chance to feed her family better and to meet the father of her children...<br />
<br />
We´ll be 5 dollars "poorer" but millions of times happier!<br />
<br />
Blessings from Patricainsweden!<br />
<br />
<br />
The point is to sell as much numbers as possible...each member will just have to take a loo<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
I´ve got the tool and I hope that you sisters are there together with me..
Whenever I feel the pain I come here
tag:ipeace.us,2009-06-25:2217368:Topic:1792033
2009-06-25T07:47:14.632Z
luisella valeri
https://ipeace.us/profile/luisellavaleri
I consider this place is one of the places where I come when I feel the pain. Today again I come as I have felt the pain. The continued violence, acts of terrorism and wailing of mothers and sisters have been affecting me both mentally and physically. But the actually the main source of concern for me is the pain of Fatima. Fatima is feeling pain in her heart. Actually the continued violence and cries of innocent people have been affecting her. Fatima is very sensitive woman. She feels…
I consider this place is one of the places where I come when I feel the pain. Today again I come as I have felt the pain. The continued violence, acts of terrorism and wailing of mothers and sisters have been affecting me both mentally and physically. But the actually the main source of concern for me is the pain of Fatima. Fatima is feeling pain in her heart. Actually the continued violence and cries of innocent people have been affecting her. Fatima is very sensitive woman. She feels everything. I am just asking my friends here to please pray in your heart for Fatima's health. I am still unclear whether Fatima has a heart problem or it is just a normal pain. But I am seeking your prayers and good wishes. I hope you will pray in your heart. Yours prayers always worked for me. Now I am hopeful your prayers will also work for Fatima. I have four children.
I want to solute all the women, who are making the difference
tag:ipeace.us,2009-06-11:2217368:Topic:1741519
2009-06-11T06:07:18.076Z
luisella valeri
https://ipeace.us/profile/luisellavaleri
I do not know whether I shall be right or wrong, but I have the belief that women are the moving spirit behind the creation of this world. Therefore, God the Great has given great wisdom to the women. There will be no exaggeration to state that God the Great has shared one of His qualities with women. God the Great is also Creator, but women have also been creating. The first knowledge to the human beings in this world is given by the women. The women have an hand in making a person good or…
I do not know whether I shall be right or wrong, but I have the belief that women are the moving spirit behind the creation of this world. Therefore, God the Great has given great wisdom to the women. There will be no exaggeration to state that God the Great has shared one of His qualities with women. God the Great is also Creator, but women have also been creating. The first knowledge to the human beings in this world is given by the women. The women have an hand in making a person good or bad.<br />
Today I want to solute all the women in the world, who have been working for the change. The name of this group Women for Change is fantastic. You have really been bringing the change. At least I have been feeling the change. Taking advantage of the time I want to pay homage to my mother Bibi Noor, who always showed me the right path. She was a very kind-hearted woman. I still remember her advices. She always used to tell me to do good. She was really a great woman. My wife Fatima, who is also the member of this group deserves to be praised.<br />
I shall be making a request from all of you to please accelerate your efforts for peace as millions of mothers and sisters are in pain. The war on terror has been taking heavy toll. You can bring smile on the faces of millions of children, who are in pain. I want to solute all those women, who always came to my rescue whenever I felt that I am collapsing. With your support the ultimate victory will be of peace.
Tzippi Keller - I am an optimist
tag:ipeace.us,2009-06-08:2217368:Topic:1729441
2009-06-08T01:07:56.673Z
luisella valeri
https://ipeace.us/profile/luisellavaleri
I have just returned from a 2 week visit to Israel, Palestine and Jordan where I travelled around talking to many people about life in the area and making short videos.<br />
<br />
<img alt="" height="134" src="http://api.ning.com/files/ArPvg816KwL1eWUijTd7NuvcK5IvBhwehFItQuioOCdZn13agCB0-JI331cFEIJXqUPKfTuUaZKrJ0yGRwHebhxBu1*yA-Z2/tzippi.jpg" width="235"></img><br />
<br />
One of the most beautiful people I met was Tzippi Keller, 76 year old mother of Irit, our Israel Women for a Change co-ordinator.<br />
<br />
At the age of 16, Tzippi joined the Israel Resistance movement, Hagannah, where she was responsible for a secret arms cache which was used to to defend the kibbutz in which she…
I have just returned from a 2 week visit to Israel, Palestine and Jordan where I travelled around talking to many people about life in the area and making short videos.<br />
<br />
<img src="http://api.ning.com/files/ArPvg816KwL1eWUijTd7NuvcK5IvBhwehFItQuioOCdZn13agCB0-JI331cFEIJXqUPKfTuUaZKrJ0yGRwHebhxBu1*yA-Z2/tzippi.jpg" alt="" width="235" height="134"/><br />
<br />
One of the most beautiful people I met was Tzippi Keller, 76 year old mother of Irit, our Israel Women for a Change co-ordinator.<br />
<br />
At the age of 16, Tzippi joined the Israel Resistance movement, Hagannah, where she was responsible for a secret arms cache which was used to to defend the kibbutz in which she lived.<br />
<br />
In the first of several short video clips, Tzippe talks about the destruction of her family in Auschwitz and her view on life.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.ipeace.me/video/tzippi-keller-i-am-an">See the video here</a><br />
<br />
To read the blogs of my journey join the Women for a Change Community <a href="http://www.womenforachangecommunity.ning.com">here</a><br />
<br />
(sorry it is a Women only community!)
President Obama's speech in Cairo - 04/06/09
tag:ipeace.us,2009-06-04:2217368:Topic:1703021
2009-06-04T15:54:04.414Z
luisella valeri
https://ipeace.us/profile/luisellavaleri
<b>Below is the speech made by President Obama in Cairo today.<br />
For me, having just returned from Israel and Jordan I find it incredibly positive.</b><br />
<br />
<p style="text-align: left;"><img alt="" height="347" src="http://api.ning.com/files/Vv61V3dMnytNjyrIXanMADkQgGSM6654-JeTImHgzSb5*AEVMZJsL1mj9UkN4IuOB0Gst1dyOGSA-YR7vCm9-bwmQyThcnbq/539w.jpg" width="539"></img></p>
<br />
<p>Good afternoon. I am honored to be in the timeless city of Cairo and to be hosted by two remarkable institutions.</p>
<p>For over a thousand years, Al-Azhar has had stood as a beacon of Islamic learning. And for over a century, Cairo University has been a source of Egypt's advancement. Together, you…</p>
<b>Below is the speech made by President Obama in Cairo today.<br />
For me, having just returned from Israel and Jordan I find it incredibly positive.</b><br />
<br />
<p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://api.ning.com/files/Vv61V3dMnytNjyrIXanMADkQgGSM6654-JeTImHgzSb5*AEVMZJsL1mj9UkN4IuOB0Gst1dyOGSA-YR7vCm9-bwmQyThcnbq/539w.jpg" alt="" width="539" height="347"/></p>
<br />
<p>Good afternoon. I am honored to be in the timeless city of Cairo and to be hosted by two remarkable institutions.</p>
<p>For over a thousand years, Al-Azhar has had stood as a beacon of Islamic learning. And for over a century, Cairo University has been a source of Egypt's advancement. Together, you represent the harmony between tradition and progress.</p>
<p>I'm grateful for your hospitality and the hospitality of the people of Egypt. And I'm also proud to carry with me the good will of the American people and a greeting of peace from Muslim communities in my country: Assalamu-alaikum.</p>
<p>We meet at a time of great tension between the United States and Muslims around the world, tension rooted in historical forces that go beyond any current policy debate. The relationship between Islam and the West includes centuries of coexistence and cooperation but also conflict and religious wars.</p>
<p>More recently, tension has been fed by colonialism that denied rights and opportunities to many Muslims and a Cold War in which Muslim majority countries were too often treated as proxies without regard to their own aspirations. Moreover, the sweeping change brought by modernity and globalization led many Muslims to view the West as hostile to the traditions of Islam.</p>
<p>Violent extremists have exploited these tensions in a small but potent minority of Muslims. The attacks of September 11, 2001, and the continued efforts of these extremists to engage in violence against civilians has led some in my country to view Islam as inevitably hostile not only to America and western countries but also to human rights.</p>
<p>All this has bred more fear and more mistrust. So long as our relationship is defined by our differences, we will empower those who sow hatred rather than peace, those who promote conflict rather than the cooperation that can help all of our people achieve justice and prosperity. And this cycle of suspicion and discord must end.</p>
<p>I've come here to Cairo to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world, one based on mutual interest and mutual respect, and one based upon the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive and need not be in competition. Instead, they overlap and share common principles, principles of justice and progress, tolerance and the dignity of all human beings.</p>
<p>I do so recognizing that change cannot happen overnight. I know there's been a lot of publicity about this speech, but no single speech can eradicate years of mistrust nor can I answer in the time that I have this afternoon all the complex questions that brought us to this point.</p>
<p>But I am convinced that in order to move forward, we must say openly to each other the things we hold in our hearts and that too often are said only behind closed doors. There must be a sustained effort to listen to each other, to learn from each other, to respect one another, and to seek common ground.</p>
<p>As the Holy Quran tells us, Be conscious of God and speak always the truth.</p>
<p>That is what I will try to do today, to speak the truth as best I can. Humbled by the task before us and firm in my belief that the interests we share as human beings are far more powerful than the forces that drive us apart.</p>
<p>Now, part of this conviction is rooted in my own experience. I'm a Christian. But my father came from a Kenyan family that includes generations of Muslims. As a boy, I spent several years in Indonesia and heard the call of the azaan at the break of dawn and at the fall of dusk.</p>
<p>As a young man, I worked in Chicago communities where many found dignity and peace in their Muslim faith. As a student of history, I also know civilization's debt to Islam. It was Islam at places like Al-Azhar that carried the light of learning through so many centuries, paving the way for Europe's renaissance and enlightenment. It was innovation in Muslim communities...</p>
<p>It was innovation in Muslim communities that developed the order of algebra, our magnetic compass and tools of navigation, our mastery of pens and printing, our understanding of how disease spreads and how it can be healed. Islamic culture has given us majestic arches and soaring spires, timeless poetry and cherished music, elegant calligraphy and places of peaceful contemplation. And throughout history, Islam has demonstrated through words and deeds the possibilities of religious tolerance and racial equality.</p>
<p>I also know that Islam has always been a part of America's story. The first nation to recognize my country was Morocco. In signing the Treaty of Tripoli in 1796, our second president, John Adams, wrote,</p>
<p>'The United States has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of Muslims. And since our founding, American Muslims have enriched the United States.</p>
<p>They have fought in our wars. They have served in our government. They have stood for civil rights. They have started businesses. They have taught at our universities. They've excelled in our sports arenas. They've won Nobel Prizes, built our tallest building and lit the Olympic torch. And when the first Muslim American was recently elected to Congress, he took the oath to defend our Constitution using the same holy Quran that one of our founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson, kept in his personal library.</p>
<p>So I have known Islam on three continents before coming to the region where it was first revealed. That experience guides my conviction that partnership between America and Islam must be based on what Islam is, not what it isn't. And I consider it part of my responsibility as president of the United States to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear.</p>
<p>But that same principle must apply to Muslim perceptions of America. Just as...</p>
<p>Just as Muslims do not fit a crude stereotype, America is not the crude stereotype of a self-interested empire. The United States has been one of the greatest sources of progress that the world has ever known. We were born out of revolution against an empire.</p>
<p>We were founded upon the ideal that all are created equal. And we have shed blood and struggled for centuries to give meaning to those words, within our borders and around the world.</p>
<p>We are shaped by every culture. Drawn from every end of the Earth, and dedicated to a simple concept, E pluribus unum: Out of many, one.</p>
<p>Now much has been made of the fact that an African-American with the name Barack Hussein Obama could be elected president. But my personal story is not so unique. The dream of opportunity for all people has not come true for everyone in America, but its promise exists for all who come to our shores. And that includes nearly 7 million American Muslims in our country today who, by the way, enjoy incomes and educational levels that are higher than the American average.</p>
<p>Moreover, freedom in America is indivisible from the freedom to practice one's religion. That is why there is a mosque in every state in our union and over 1,200 mosques within our borders. That's why the United States government has gone to court to protect the right of women and girls to wear the hijab, and to punish those who would deny it.</p>
<p>So let there be no doubt...</p>
<p>... let there be no doubt, Islam is a part of America. And I believe that America holds within her the truth that regardless of race, religion, or station in life, all of us share common aspirations: to live in peace and security, to get an education and to work with dignity, to love our families, our communities, and our God. These things we share. This is the hope of all humanity.</p>
<p>Of course, recognizing our common humanity is only the beginning of our task. Words alone cannot meet the needs of our people. These needs will be met only if we act boldly in the years ahead. And if we understand that the challenges we face are shared and our failure to meet them will hurt us all.</p>
<p>For we have learned from recent experience that when a financial system weakens in one country, prosperity is hurt everywhere. When a new flu infects one human being, all are at risk. When one nation pursues a nuclear weapon, the risk of nuclear attack rises for all nations.</p>
<p>When violent extremists operate in one stretch of mountains, people are endangered across an ocean. When innocents in Bosnia and Darfur are slaughtered, that is a stain on our collective conscience.</p>
<p>That is what it means to share this world in the 21st Century. That is the responsibility we have to one another as human beings. This is a difficult responsibility to embrace, for human history has often been a record of nations and tribes, and, yes, religions subjugating one another in pursuit of their own interests.</p>
<p>Yet in this new age, such attitudes are self-defeating. Given our interdependence, any world order that elevates one nation or group of people over another will inevitably fail. So whatever we think of the past, we must not be prisoners to it. Our problems must be dealt with through partnership, our progress must be shared.</p>
<p>Now, that does not mean we should ignore sources of tension. Indeed, it suggests the opposite. We must face these tensions squarely. And so, in that spirit, let me speak as clearly and as plainly as I can about some specific issues that I believe we must finally confront together.</p>
<p>The first issue that we have to confront is violent extremism in all its forms. In Ankara, I made clear that America is not and never will be at war with Islam.</p>
<p>We will, however, relentlessly confront violent extremists who pose a grave threat to our security because we reject the same thing that people of all faiths reject, the killing of innocent men, women, and children. And it is my first duty as president to protect the American people.</p>
<p>The situation in Afghanistan demonstrates America's goals and our need to work together. Over seven years ago, the United States pursued Al Qaida and the Taliban with broad international support. We did not go by choice. We went because of necessity. I'm aware that there's still some who would question or even justify the offense of 9/11. But let us be clear. Al Qaida killed nearly 3,000 people on that day.</p>
<p>The victims were innocent men, women, and children from America and many other nations who had done nothing to harm anybody. And yet Al Qaida chose to ruthlessly murder these people, claimed credit for the attack, and even now states their determination to kill on a massive scale. They have affiliates in many countries and are trying to expand their reach.</p>
<p>These are not opinions to be debated. These are facts to be dealt with. Make no mistake, we do not want to keep our troops in Afghanistan. We see no military -- we seek no military bases there. It is agonizing for America to lose our young men and women. It is costly and politically difficult to continue this conflict.</p>
<p>We would gladly bring every single one of our troops home if we could be confident that there were not violent extremists in Afghanistan and now Pakistan determined to kill as many Americans as they possibly can. But that is not yet the case.</p>
<p>And that's why we're partnering with a coalition of 46 countries. And despite the costs involved, America's commitment will not weaken. Indeed, none of us should tolerate these extremists. They have killed in many countries. They have killed people of different faiths but, more than any other, they have killed Muslims. Their actions are irreconcilable with the rights of human beings, the progress of nations, and with Islam.</p>
<p>The Holy Quran teaches that whoever kills an innocent is as -- it is as it if has killed all mankind.</p>
<p>And the Holy Quran also says whoever saves a person, it is as if he has saved all mankind.</p>
<p>The enduring faith of over a billion people is so much bigger than the narrow hatred of a few. Islam is not part of the problem in combating violent extremism; it is an important part of promoting peace.</p>
<p>Now, we also know that military power alone is not going solve the problems in Afghanistan and Pakistan. That's why we plan to invest $1.5 billion each year over the next five years to partner with Pakistanis to build schools and hospitals, roads and businesses, and hundreds of millions to help those who've been displaced.</p>
<p>That's why we are providing more than $2.8 billion to help Afghans develop their economy and deliver services that people depend on.</p>
<p>Now, let me also address the issue of Iraq. Unlike Afghanistan, Iraq was a war of choice that provoked strong differences in my country and around the world. Although I believe that the Iraqi people are ultimately better off without the tyranny of Saddam Hussein, I also believe that events in Iraq have reminded America of the need to use diplomacy and build international consensus to resolve our problems whenever possible.</p>
<p>Indeed, we can recall the words of Thomas Jefferson, who said, I hope that our wisdom will grow with our power and teach us that the less we use our power, the greater it will be. Today America has a dual responsibility to help Iraq forge a better future and to leave Iraq to Iraqis.</p>
<p>I have made it clear to the Iraqi people...</p>
<p>I have made it clear to the Iraqi people that we pursue no basis and no claim on their territory or resources. Iraq's sovereignty is its own. And that's why I ordered the removal of our combat brigades by next August. That is why we will honor our agreement with Iraq's democratically-elected government to remove combat troops from Iraqi cities by July and to remove all of our troops from Iraq by 2012.</p>
<p>We will help Iraq train its security forces and develop its economy. But we will support a secure and united Iraq as a partner and never as a patron.</p>
<p>And finally, just as America can never tolerate violence by extremists, we must never alter or forget our principles. 9/11 was an enormous trauma to our country. The fear and anger that it provoked was understandable. But in some cases, it led us to act contrary to our traditions and our ideals.</p>
<p>We are taking concrete actions to change course. I have unequivocally prohibited the use of torture by the United States. And I have ordered the prison at Guantanamo Bay closed by early next year.</p>
<p>So America will defend itself, respectful of the sovereignty of nations and the rule of law. And we will do so in partnership with Muslim communities, which are also threatened. The sooner the extremists are isolated and unwelcome in Muslim communities, the sooner we will all be safer.</p>
<p>Now, the second major source of tension that we need to discuss is the situation between Israelis, Palestinians and the Arab world. America's strong bonds with Israel are well-known. This bond is unbreakable. It is based upon cultural and historical ties and the recognition that the aspiration for a Jewish homeland is rooted in a tragic history that cannot be denied.</p>
<p>Around the world the Jewish people were persecuted for centuries. And anti-Semitism in Europe culminated in an unprecedented holocaust. Tomorrow I will visit Buchenwald, which was part of a network of camps where Jews were enslaved, tortured, shot and gassed to death by the Third Reich.</p>
<p>Six million Jews were killed, more than the entire Jewish population of Israel today. Denying that fact is baseless. It is ignorant, and it is hateful.</p>
<p>It's about preventing a nuclear arms race in the Middle East that could lead this region and the world down a hugely dangerous path.</p>
<p>Now, I understand those who protest that some countries have weapons that others do not. No single nations should pick and choose which nation holds nuclear weapons. And that's why I strongly reaffirmed America's commitment to seek a world in which no nations hold nuclear weapons.</p>
<p>And any nation, including Iran, should have the right to access peaceful nuclear power if it complies with its responsibilities under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. That commitment is at the core of the treaty. And it must be kept for all who fully abide by it. And I am hopeful that all countries in the region can share in this goal.</p>
<p>The fourth issue that I will address is democracy.</p>
<p>I know there has been controversy about the promotion of democracy in recent years. And much of this controversy is connected to the war in Iraq. So let me be clear. No system of government can or should be imposed by one nation by any other. That does not lessen my commitment, however, to governments that reflect the will of the people.</p>
<p>Each nation gives life to this principle in its own way, grounded in the traditions of its own people. America does not presume to know what is best for everyone, just as we would not presume to pick the outcome of a peaceful election.</p>
<p>But I do have an unyielding belief that all people yearn for certain things: the ability to speak your mind and have a say in how you are governed, confidence in the rule of law and the equal administration of justice, government that is transparent and doesn't steal from the people, the freedom to live as you choose. These are not just American ideas. They are human rights. And that is why we will support them everywhere.</p>
<p>Now, there is no straight line to realize this promise. But this much is clear. Governments that protect these rights are ultimately more stable, successful and secure. Suppressing ideas never succeeds in making them go away. America respects the right of all peaceful and law-abiding voices to be heard around the world, even if we disagree with them. And we will welcome all elected, peaceful governments, provided they govern with respect for all their people.</p>
<p>This last point is important because there are some who advocate for democracy only when they're out of power. Once in power, they are ruthless in suppressing the rights of others.</p>
<p>So no matter where it takes hold, government of the people and by the people sets a single standard for all who would hold power. You must maintain your power through consent, not coercion. You must respect the rights of minorities and participate with a spirit of tolerance and compromise. You must place the interests of your people and the legitimate workings of the political process above your party.</p>
<p>Without these ingredients, elections alone do not make true democracy.</p>
<p>The fifth issue that we must address together is religious freedom. Islam has a proud tradition of tolerance. We see it in the history of Andalusia and Cordoba during the Inquisition. I saw it firsthand as a child in Indonesia where devote Christians worshipped freely in an overwhelmingly Muslim country.</p>
<p>That is the spirit we need today. People in every country should be free to choose and live their faith based upon the persuasion of the mind and the heart and the soul.</p>
<p>This tolerance is essential for religion to thrive. But it's being challenged in many different ways. Among some Muslims, there's a disturbing tendency to measure one's own faith by the rejection of somebody else's faith.</p>
<p>The richness of religious diversity must be upheld, whether it is for Maronites in Lebanon or the Copts in Egypt.</p>
<p>And if we are being honest, fault lines must be closed among Muslims as well as the divisions between Sunni and Shia have led to tragic violence, particularly in Iraq.</p>
<p>Freedom of religion is central to the ability of peoples to live together. We must always examine the ways in which people protect it. For instance, in the United States, rules on charitable giving have made it harder for Muslims to fulfill their religious obligation.</p>
<p>That's why I'm committed to work with American Muslims to ensure that they can fulfill zakat. Likewise, it is important for Western countries to avoid impeding Muslim citizens from practicing religion as they see fit, for instance, by dictating what clothes a Muslim woman should wear.</p>
<p>We can't disguise hostility towards any religion behind the pretense of liberalism. In fact, faith should bring us together. And that's why we're forging service projects in America to bring together Christians, Muslims, and Jews.</p>
<p>That's why we welcome efforts like Saudi Arabian King Abdullah's interfaith dialogue and Turkey's leadership in the Alliance of Civilizations.</p>
<p>Around the world, we can turn dialogue into interfaith service so bridges between peoples lead to action, whether it is combating malaria in Africa or providing relief after a natural disaster.</p>
<p>The sixth issue -- the sixth issue that I want to address is women's rights.</p>
<p>I know...</p>
<p>I know, and you can tell from this audience, that there is a healthy debate about this issue. I reject the view of some in the West that a woman who chooses to cover her hair is somehow less equal. But I do believe that a woman who is denied an education is denied equality.</p>
<p>And it is no coincidence that countries where women are well- educated are far more likely to be prosperous.</p>
<p>Now let me be clear, issues of women's equality are by no means simply an issue for Islam. In Turkey, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, we've seen Muslim-majority countries elect a woman to lead.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the struggle for women's equality continues in many aspects of American life and in countries around the world. I am convinced that our daughters can contribute just as much to society as our sons.</p>
<p>Our common prosperity will be advanced by allowing all humanity, men and women, to reach their full potential. I do not believe that women must make the same choices as men in order to be equal. And I respect those women who choose to live their lives in traditional roles. But it should be their choice. That is why the United States will partner with any Muslim- majority country to support expanded literacy for girls and to help young women pursue employment through micro-financing that helps people live their dreams.</p>
<p>Finally, I want to discuss economic development and opportunity. I know that for many, the face of globalization is contradictory. The Internet and television can bring knowledge and information but also offensive sexuality and mindless violence into the home.</p>
<p>Trade can bring new wealth and opportunities but also huge disruptions and change in communities. In all nations, including America, this change can bring fear; fear that, because of modernity, we lose control over our economic choices, our politics, and most importantly, our identities, those things we most cherish about our communities, our families, our traditions, and our faith.</p>
<p>But I also know that human progress cannot be denied. There need not be contradictions between development and tradition. Countries like Japan and South Korea grew their economies enormously while maintaining distinct cultures. The same is true for the astonishing progress within Muslim majority countries from Kuala Lumpur to Dubai.</p>
<p>In ancient times and in our times, Muslim communities have been at the forefront of innovation and education. And this is important because no development strategy can be based only upon what comes out of the ground nor can it be sustained while young people are out of work.</p>
<p>Many Gulf States have enjoyed great wealth as a consequence of oil, and some are beginning to focus it on broader development. But all of us must recognize that education and innovation will be the currency of the 21st century. And in too...</p>
<p>And in too many Muslim communities, there remains underinvestment in these areas. I am emphasizing such investment within my own country. And while America, in the past, has focused on oil and gas when it comes to this part of the world, we new seek a broader engagement.</p>
<p>On education, we will expand change programs and increase scholarships like the one that brought my father to America.</p>
<p>At the same time, we will encourage more Americans to study in Muslim communities. And we will match promising Muslim students are internships in America, invest in online learning for teachers and children around the world and create a new, online network so a young person in Kansas can communicate instantly with a young person in Cairo.</p>
<p>On economic development, we will create a new core of business volunteers to partner with counterparts in Muslim majority countries. And I will host a summit on entrepreneurship this year to identify how we can deepen ties between business leaders, foundations, and social entrepreneurs in the United States and Muslim communities around the world.</p>
<p>On science and technology, we will launch a new fund to support technological development in Muslim majority country and to help transfer ideas to the marketplace so they can create more jobs. We will open centers of scientific excellence in Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia and appoint new science envoys to collaborate on programs that develop new sources of energy, create green jobs, digitize records, clean water, grow new crops.</p>
<p>Today, I'm announcing a new global effort with the organization of the Islamic Conference to eradicate polio. And we will also expand partnerships with Muslim communities to promote child and maternal health.</p>
<p>All these things must be done in partnership. Americans are ready to join with citizens and governments, community organizations, religious leaders, and businesses in Muslim communities around the world to help our people pursue a better life.</p>
<p>The issues that I have described will not be easy to address, but we have a responsibility to join together to behalf of the world that we seek, a world where extremists no longer threaten our people and American troops have come home; a world where Israelis and Palestinians are each secure in a state of their own and nuclear energy is used for peaceful purposes, a world where governments serve their citizens and the rights of all God's children are respected. Those are mutual interests. That is the world we seek.But we can only achieve it together. I know there are many, Muslim and non-Muslim, who question whether we can forge this new beginning. Some are eager to stoke the flames of division and to stand in the way of progress. Some suggest that it isn't worth the effort, that we are fated to disagree and civilizations are doomed to clash.</p>
<p>Many more are simply skeptical that real change can occur. There is so much fear, so much mistrust that has built up over the years. But if we choose to be bound by the past, we will never move forward. And I want to particularly say this to young people of every faith in every country. You more than anyone have the ability to reimagine the world, the remake this world.</p>
<p>All of us share this world for but a brief moment in time. The question is whether we spend that time focused on what pushes us apart or whether we commit ourselves to an effort, a sustained effort to find common ground, to focus on the future we seek for our children and to respect the dignity of all human beings. It's easier to start wars than to end them. It's easier to blame others than to look inward. It's easier to see what is different about someone than to find the things we share. But we should choose the right path, not just the easy path. There is one rule that lies at the heart of every religion, that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us.</p>
<p>This truth transcends nations and peoples, a belief that isn't new, that isn't black or white or brown, that isn't Christian or Muslim or Jew. It's a belief that pulsed in the cradle of civilization and that still beats in the hearts of billions around the world. It's a faith in other people. And it's what brought me here today. We have the power to make the world we seek, but only if we have the courage to make a new beginning, keeping in mind what has been written. The Holy Quran tells us, Mankind, we have created you male and a female. And we have made you into nations and tribes so that you may know one another. The Talmud tells us, The whole of the Torah is for the purpose of promoting peace.</p>
<p>The Holy Bible tells us, Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.</p>
<p>The people of the world can live together in peace. We know that is God's vision. Now that must be our work here on Earth.</p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
<p>And may God's peace be upon you.</p>
<p>Thank you very much.</p>
<p></p>